MIAMI — The Jaguars weren’t pushed around in the trenches by the Dolphins like they were in the preseason last year, but they obviously need a lot of fine-tuning.

They were held to three field goals in a 12-9 loss to the Dolphins.

The only touchdown was scored by former Jaguar Ernest Wilford, who caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne in the third quarter.

Josh Scobee was the biggest bright spot on offense, accounting for all the Jaguars’ points on three field goals.

The Jaguars could have attempted to tie the game with a field goal with 2:47 remaining when they faced a 4th- and-4 at the Miami 5.

But teams don’t like to play overtime games in preseason so coach Jack Del Rio went for the touchdown and Paul Smith’s pass went off the hands of tight end Greg Estandia in the end zone.

Still, Del Rio was encouraged that the Jaguars were more physical than they were against the Dolphins last year.

“I like what we did up front as far as being physical,’’ he said.

Del Rio said he also “saw some good things with our receiving corps showing hands. Nate Hughes and Troy Williamson have been strong in camp and they did some nice things in the first half.’’

They combined for seven catches in the first half, five of them thrown by backup Todd Bouman in the second quarter.

Starting quarterback David Garrard managed only one first down (a 10-yard pass to Torry Holt) in three series while completing 4 of 7 passes for 22 yards. He was also sacked once.

Garrard also showed no signs of having a deep passing game. Three of his passes were short tosses to Maurice Jones-Drew and Greg Jones.

“I thought we did some things pretty good, but there were things we need to get better at,’’ Garrard said.

“We have to get better at some of the protection issues. I have to make sure I get everybody lined up in the right spots and everybody knows exactly who they are protecting. I saw a lot of good things.’’

Of Holt, Garrard said, “He’s going to make a great addition for us. He’s looking great and he’s hungry. He’s so fired up and he wants to make sure everybody does their best on the field and we are very productive.

“He’s not just in his twilight years. He wants to be as productive if not better than he has been in the past.’’

When Garrard left, Bouman came in and had a strong second quarter, completing 7 of 10 passes for 101 yards.

He also operated an effective two-minute drill at the end of the first half.

But ill-timed penalties ruined his touchdown bid after the Jaguars drove to the Miami 8. Uche Nwaneri and Tony Pashos were guilty of false starts on consecutive plays and the Jaguars settled for a 36-yard field goal by Scobee.

Bouman struggled in the third quarter threw an interception in the end zone. He wound up completing 10 of 18 passes for 130 yards.

Smith played the fourth quarter and threw an interception.

On defense, the Jaguars experimented with different alignments, including the 3-4 they have been using in camp, while holding the Dolphins to two field goals in the first half.

Derrick Harvey, who missed the first three preseason games while holding out last year, was given credit for three tackles, including one solo as he held his own against Jake Long. He sometimes dropped into coverage.

The game featured a downpour early in the third quarter and most of the fans went under cover, although many of them returned after the rain stopped later in the quarter.

Middle linebacker Justin Durant suffered a strained hip flexor in the first half, but the Jaguars said the injury is not serious.